COL Group

COL Group Co Ltd (Chinese: 中文在线) is a digital content company. Founded in 2000, the company focuses on the development and application of IP across formats and apply AI technology into its operations. It operates business in several countries and regions.

COL Group’s core business includes content development, IP operations, international business expansion, and the use of AI to support its content ecosystem.

History

COL was founded at Tsinghua University, Beijing, in 2000. It was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange on 21 January 2015.[1]

COL Group sources legal digital content from its original platforms, cooperated authors, and copyright organizations. It operates multiple original content platforms, including 17K.com and 4YT.NET, as well as labels focused on sci-fi (qixianghz.com) and mystery (xuanyi.ChineseAll.net) stories.[2] The company has accumulated over 5.6 million digital works, signed more than 2,000 renowned authors, engaged over 4.5 million online authors, and formed partnerships with over 600 copyright organizations.[3] In 2022, COL earned over 300 million CNY (US$41.1 million) from paid mini video series.[4]

The company operates online literature platforms in China and is involved in short-form drama production, IP-based merchandise, and related fields. It has established offices in the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia, and holds a stake in Crazy Maple Studio, the parent company of the short drama platform 'ReelShort'.[5]

ReelShort

Main article: ReelShort

Crazy Maple Studio, a partially owned subsidiary of COL Group, published the video app ReelShort in August 2022.[4] It provides duanjus that are only several minutes long. Crazy Maple Studio adapted some shows from scripts that were originally written in Chinese and produced for users in China.[6][7] After downloads of ReelShort from the US Apple App Store surged in November 2023, COL's stock price more than doubled in two weeks.[4]

Sereal+

Sereal+ is a duanju platform under COL Web, which was launched in December, 2023. It produces and distributes short drama globally.[8] Users have access to various genres of duanjus via Sereal+'s App or its website.

series:

Once Upon a Divorce: The Double Life of Lady Diana [9]

Wake Up Dad! Wedding Time[10]

My Cold-Blooded Alpha King[11]

UniReel

In November 2024, COL JAPAN launched the duanju app UniReel.[12] Its first series was a school-based mystery drama——The Final Lesson – Only Survivors Graduate.[13] UniReel’s first production was a short drama originally produced by Nippon TV, starring idol Yusei Yagi.[14] The Final Lesson – Only Survivors Graduate won Best Actor at the 1st Asia Short-Form Drama Awards in 2025, with Yusei Yagi recognized for his performance in the UniReel-released series.[15]

Investment in AI

AI LLM

COL Group has invested in AI LLM (Large Language Model) and multimodal generative AI, both technically and commercially. In 2023, COL Group launched "Xiaoyao.ai," a 10,000-word creative LLM, capable of generating a 10,000-word novel with one click, writing a novel from a single image, and comprehending a million-word novel in one read.[16] auther.xiaoyao.ai enables users to create and publish AI-assisted original works.

AI Anime Shorts

COL Group engages in the production of AI anime shorts as part of its digital content business. These short animated series are created using artificial intelligence technologies in areas such as scriptwriting, visual design, and animation generation. The company integrates AI tools into the content production workflow to support the development of serialized short-form animations, primarily targeting mobile and online platforms. This initiative forms a segment of COL Group’s broader involvement in AI-assisted content creation.

References

  1. ^ "公司介绍_中文在线". www.col.com. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  2. ^ https://www.weforum.org/organizations/col-group/
  3. ^ https://www.col.com/list-36omm765/ABOUT%20US/1/10#introducentroduce
  4. ^ a b c "COL's Share Price Doubles as Chinese Firm's ReelShort App Becomes Popular in US". www.yicaiglobal.com. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  5. ^ https://www.col.com/cover-85n9e1sz/zhongyingwen
  6. ^ "ReelShort is the latest Chinese export to conquer America". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  7. ^ "Reelshort冲上美iOS娱乐榜第一，中文在线半个月股价翻倍". 证券时报官方网站-中国资本市场信息披露平台 (in Chinese). 2023-11-14. Archived from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  8. ^ "Chinese Micro-Dramas Surge as Creatives Refine Genre and Companies Lure Name Talent". 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Once Upon a Divorce: The Double Life of Lady Diana | Streaming details inside". 17 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Wake up Dad! Wedding Time". IMDb.
  11. ^ "My Cold-Blooded Alpha King". IMDb.
  12. ^ "豎屏短劇衝擊日本：傳統電視臺和中國平臺入局激戰 日經中文網". zh.cn.nikkei.com. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  13. ^ wws-murakami (2024-11-27). "FANTASTICS・八木勇征インタビュー命と向き合い続けた4日間で新境地…「最期の授業」UniReelで配信スタート！". WWSチャンネル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-03-28.
  14. ^ "縦型ショートドラマ「最期の授業」１１月末に船出、「ＵｎｉＲｅｅｌ」第１弾、日本テレビ・鈴木努氏「コンテンツの強度、質で勝負」". スポーツ報知 (in Japanese). 2024-11-14. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  15. ^ "Short Drama "The Final Lesson - Only Survivors Graduate -" Receives Award at the 1st Asia Short-Form Drama Awards". NIPPON TV. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  16. ^ "东方财富资讯".
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